Lucky Stars (Ghosts and Reincarnation #5)(63)

Jack clenched his jaw and remained silent.

Lila either ignored it or didn’t see it (likely the first) and continued, “Considering your mother’s disposition, her assertion that you are not, in fact, adopted, and your recent behaviour, I can assume that things went horribly awry the first time you were with Belle. Or, considering your behaviour when I met you and the penchant toward violence you and your brother demonstrated, I can assume that you’re setting her up to take a gigantic fall once the baby’s born. I’d like you to tell me, honestly, which one it is.”

Jack’s body clenched as stiffly as his jaw.

For Belle’s sake, he forced his body to relax and with as much politeness as he could muster, he murmured, “Please leave, Lila.”

“I’ll leave when you tell me which one it is,” she returned stubbornly.

He regarded her a moment and then said in a low, very unhappy voice, “I’ll tell you that you don’t know me well enough to make assumptions about me. I’ll also tell you that I’m not pleased at your display of judgement when you’ve no idea what has passed between Belle and I or my brother and I. I’ll further tell you that if you behave this way around our child, I’ll not be happy. Without the facts at your command or often with them, standing in judgement of another is a revolting trait and I’ll not tolerate it around my child. And lastly, I’ll tell you that it’s commendable you wish to protect your granddaughter but you aren’t doing a very good job of it, insulting the father of her child while she’s asleep in his arms.”

Jack could swear he saw a light come to her eyes. A light that looked quite a bit like approval.

He also didn’t care.

Lila’s approval didn’t matter to him, Belle’s did. He’d earn it with Lila’s assent or not.

“I don’t think you understand that I’ve had a goodly number of heart-to-hearts with your mother,” Lila told him.

“You’ve known her a month,” Jack returned.

“What I’m saying is, I know more than you think I do,” Lila replied.

“I know what you’re saying,” Jack explained. “But my mother wasn’t present during the time I shared with Belle. She doesn’t know what transpired.”

Lila gave him a small, all-knowing grin. “Belle told me that part.”

“Belle may have been there but Belle wasn’t in my head. She clearly had no idea what I was thinking or she would never have left this house.”

Jack knew exactly what he’d given away and he’d intended to do it. Not because he wished to assuage Lila’s concern but because he wanted her to leave before they woke Belle which was something they courted the longer their conversation lasted.

“So things went horribly awry,” Lila muttered, watching him closely.

Jack didn’t bother to reply.

They studied each other for long moments before Lila’s face changed in a way he couldn’t read but he knew did not bode well.

“There are things you need to know about Belle,” she whispered.

He didn’t like the tone of her voice or the grave look on her face.

Nevertheless he replied, “Let’s let Belle share them with me, shall we?”

Lila gave him an unusually hesitant look. “I think you should know them sooner rather than later.”

“What I think is that it’s clear Belle has trust issues. If she knew I was discussing her secrets with her grandmother it would be detrimental to me winning that trust. Therefore it’s best she confide them to me when the time is right for her.”

Jack waited for Lila to argue, finding he was increasingly frustrated and thus annoyed that they were having this conversation with Belle present, asleep or not. He was further frustrated that Lila tied his hands because he couldn’t communicate the intensity of his anger, nor could he even physically move.

She was, he thought with irritation, very clever.

Her gaze shifted to her granddaughter, her face cleared and for a moment, it gentled.

She hid this look when her eyes returned to him.

“So be it,” she declared, stood and looked down on him.

This he also found irritating.

“Handle her with care, Jack,” she warned softly. “Belle deserves that.”

Jack’s jaw clenched yet again at her imparting this unnecessary piece of advice before she continued and what she said made his gut clench.

“You see, there were those before you who didn’t so it’s essential you do.”

Before he could utter a word, she swiftly and silently swept from the room.

Her parting words obliterated the serenity he’d felt minutes before.

His mind turned to Belle and his first night together, her earnest demand that he promise she could trust him and the conversation they never had the next morning where she was going to share her secrets.

Perhaps, he thought with no small amount of uneasiness, they should talk before he’d fully earned her trust and made their relationship far more pleasantly complicated.

His arm tightened and he shifted her closer, deciding to clear the foreboding from his mind by reading.

He was engrossed in his book when she woke.

Her cheek gliding on his chest, her eyes opening and focussing fuzzily on his book, Jack watched her blink a couple of times. Then her head tipped up and her grey eyes, still groggy, were soft and had no trouble catching his.